bradley



(No Model.) i I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

T. BRADLEY. Street Sweeping Machine.

' .No. 243,358. Patented June 28; 1881.

v v WITWIWYENTQR: 6% fla/amz 7 V ATTORNEYS.

(No Model.) SheetsSheet 2.

' T. BRADLEY. Street'Sweeping Machine.

No. 243,358. Patented June 28,1881.

WITNESSES: AIJNVENTOR: Q @fiZ/My/ BY I ATTORNEYS.

connected to and detached from a cart. Separate horses and men are notrequired, but the cart-horses are utilized to draw the machine.

The principal weight of the machine being forward of the axle, I attacha counterbalanceweight, a, at the back of the axle, so that whenthemachine is not'in use the brushes will be raised, or the machinebalanced on the axle, in-

stead of resting on the brushes.

Having thus described myinvention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Pateni 1. In a street-sweepin g machine, the combina- THOMASBRADLEY.

Witnesses GEO. D. WALKER, O. SEDGWIOK.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS BRADLEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

STREET-SWEEPING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 243,358, dated June 28,1881,

Application filed October 12, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS BRADLEY, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Street-SweepingMachines, of which the following is a specification.

Y My improvements relate to machines for sweeping streets, gathering thesweepin gs, and delivering the material gathered to carts at oneoperation.

The object of my invention is to save the use of horses and men,specially for the sweepingmachine, by furnishing a machine adapted forattachment behind the carts used to convey away the sweepings, so thatthe sweeper can be attached, drawn along, and when the cart is filledthe machine disconnected and left for the next cart.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification,Figure 1. is a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 is a vertical1ongitudinal section, and Fig. 3 is a front elevation, of the machine.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts. v

A A are the supporting-wheels of the machine, fixed on axle a.

b b are side bars supported on the axle, which side bars extend forwardand sustain a crossshaft, 0, on which are fixed pulleys ora roller, (1,that carries and moves the brushes. On one end of shaft 0 is a pinion,c, meshing with a gear formed on one wheel, A. The pinion c is held tothe shaft by a groove and feather so that it may slide, and a groove inthe hub of the pinion is engaged by the forked end of a shifting-lever,f, that is hung at the side of the machine, by which lever the pinioncan be thrown in and out of gear.

From the side bars, I), boards g extend forward at each side of themachine and incline upward. Across the upper and forward ends of boards9 is fitted a shaft or roller, h, for supporting the endless belt ofbrushes. The bars I) and boards g are covered, as shown at i, so thatthe brushes are inclosed. In constructing the machine I prefer to use aframe of iron bars, and use sheet metal for the inclosing-boards.

The endless belt of brushes consists of strips 7a fitted with brushmaterial, forming brush- (No model.)

heads, that are attached upon endless chains 1 I. These chains run uponspiked pulleys or rollers fixed on the shafts 0 It so that the chainsand brush-heads are prevented from shifting. A wide endless belt may beused in place of the chains, if desired.

Beneath the brushes is a plate or apron, m, of sheet metal, whichextends entirely across the machine, and is sustained on the sideboardsg by set-screws a, passing through slotted flanges of cross-bars 0 0, towhich the plate at is attached. The plate or apron m thus forms thebottom of an inclined trough in which the brushes move, and the plate isadjustable on boards g, so that it can be set up to the brushes as theywear. The upper end of plate in is bent outward to form adelivery-chute, p, and the lower end is slit lengthwise, as shown inFig. 3, to form tongues m, the ends of which, in use, rest on the groundimmediately in front of the brushes that are gathering the dirt. Theplate on is preferably made of steel.

At the sides of the machine are draft-bars or tongues q q, pivoted at ornear the axle, and extending forward in a nearly horizontal direction,so that cross-bars r 1", that connect their forward ends, arebeneath theapron m and behind chute p.

To the bars r is connected a clevis, 8, having apertures in the outerends of its forks.

In using the machine the clevis s is to be connected to a hook securedon the cart at a suitable place, so that the chute 19 shall extend overthe body of the cart. The forked clevis is used, so that by usingeitherfork, as required, the chute will be elevated more or less, andthe brushes brought to or from the ground. I also provide for adjustmentof the brushes by connecting the tongues q to the sides of the machinewith clamping-screws t, that pass through slots in the tongues, whichconstruction allows the tongues to be raised and lowered to vary theheight of clevis s.

In operation, the machine being attached to a cart and drawn forward,the brushes gather the dirt and carry it up the apron m to chute p, fromwhence it falls into the cart. The spring-tongues m give way toobstructions, such as stones, and, being separate, any one can passastone without raising the others. It will be seen that the machine canbe readily

